HSC Enterprise Computing flashcards
HSC Enterprise Computing · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Enterprise computing system
- A large-scale, integrated IT environment supporting core organisational processes across departments and sites, characterised by high volume, integration, shared data and mission-critical availability requirements.
- Transaction processing system
- A system that captures and records high-volume routine business events as transactions, maintaining accuracy and consistency through immediate or batch processing and recovery logging.
- Management information system
- A system that draws on stored transaction data to produce scheduled summary and exception reports, supporting routine operational planning and control by middle managers.
- Decision support system
- An interactive system combining data, models and analytical tools so managers can run what-if scenarios and compare alternatives for semi-structured decisions.
- Data hierarchy
- The ordering of stored data from smallest to largest: field (one attribute), record (related fields), file (related records) and database (integrated collection of related files).
- Relational database
- A database that stores data in tables of rows and columns, linking tables through primary and foreign keys so relationships are represented without duplicating data.
- Primary key
- An attribute or minimal combination of attributes whose value uniquely identifies each record in a table and cannot be null or duplicated.
- Foreign key
- An attribute in one table that matches the primary key of another table, creating a relationship and enforcing referential integrity between the two tables.
- Referential integrity
- A rule ensuring every foreign key value matches an existing primary key value, or is null, so records cannot reference nonexistent parent records.
- Normalisation
- The process of organising attributes into related tables to eliminate repeating groups and reduce insertion, update and deletion anomalies caused by redundant stored data.
- ACID properties
- Four transaction guarantees: atomicity (all or nothing), consistency (valid state to valid state), isolation (concurrent transactions do not interfere) and durability (committed changes survive failure).
- DBMS
- Database management software that defines, stores, retrieves and secures data, providing concurrency control, integrity enforcement, authorisation, backup, recovery and transaction logging services.
- Client-server architecture
- A model where client devices request services and servers supply data or processing, separating presentation from shared data and centralising control of resources.
- N-tier architecture
- An architecture splitting a system into separate presentation, application and data layers, so each layer can be scaled, secured or replaced independently of the others.
- Virtualisation
- Running multiple logical servers or environments on one physical host, raising hardware utilisation, isolating workloads and enabling rapid provisioning and testing.
- Cloud service models
- IaaS supplies virtual infrastructure, PaaS supplies a development and hosting platform, and SaaS supplies finished applications; responsibility for management shifts from client to provider.
- Firewall
- A network control that inspects traffic and permits or blocks it according to configured rules, protecting internal systems from unauthorised external access.
- Encryption
- Converting readable data into ciphertext using a key so that intercepted or stolen data cannot be understood without the corresponding decryption key.
- Authentication and authorisation
- Authentication verifies a user's claimed identity, while authorisation determines which resources and actions that verified identity is permitted to access.
- Project life cycle
- The staged sequence of initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure, each stage producing deliverables and a gate decision before proceeding.
- Triple constraint
- The interdependence of scope, time and cost in a project: changing one constraint affects the others, and quality results from balancing all three.
- Scope statement
- A document defining project deliverables, boundaries, assumptions and acceptance criteria, forming the baseline against which scope changes are assessed and controlled.
- Scope creep
- Uncontrolled expansion of project scope through unapproved additions, which increases time and cost without corresponding adjustments to resources or schedule.
- Change control
- A formal process of requesting, assessing impact of, approving or rejecting, and recording changes to a project baseline before they are implemented.
- Work breakdown structure
- A hierarchical decomposition of project deliverables into manageable work packages, used to estimate effort and cost and to assign responsibility.
- Gantt chart
- A scheduling chart plotting tasks as bars against a calendar, showing duration, start and finish dates, overlap and progress at a glance.
- Critical path
- The longest sequence of dependent activities through a project network, determining the shortest possible project duration; its activities have zero float.
- Float
- The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion, calculated as late start minus early start or late finish minus early finish.
- Bottom-up estimation
- Estimating project effort and cost by summing detailed estimates for each work package in the work breakdown structure, giving accuracy at higher preparation cost.
- Three-point estimation
- An estimating technique averaging optimistic, most likely and pessimistic durations, commonly as (optimistic + 4 x most likely + pessimistic) divided by six.
- Risk exposure
- A measure of risk severity calculated by multiplying the probability of the risk occurring by the impact if it does occur, used to rank risks.
- Verification and validation
- Verification confirms the product is built correctly according to specification; validation confirms the correct product is built and meets the client's actual needs.
- Project closure
- The final phase in which deliverables are handed over and accepted, documentation archived, resources released, and outcomes reviewed against the original objectives.